


"Stay With Me"

by Crownonymous



Series: Whumptober 2019 [17]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Deceit tries his best, Emotional Hurt, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lies, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Episode: Accepting Anxiety, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, familial Anxceit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21696661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crownonymous/pseuds/Crownonymous
Summary: Virgil doesn't belong in the Dark.
Relationships: Deceit Sanders & Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Series: Whumptober 2019 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1522484
Comments: 14
Kudos: 137





	"Stay With Me"

**Author's Note:**

> Day 17 of Whumptober 2019. First posted onto my tumblr, now I'm crossposting here.

Virgil always loved the Light. Everyone else thrived away from it. Remus concocted all manner of ghouls, hags, and wraiths in his corner of the Mindscape. Dearest Orange was pleased to let the darkness swallow him whole. Deceit himself relished in working in the Shadows,content to have his contributions to Thomas’ psyche stay out of the spotlight.

Deceit and the Others didn’t need the Light. They were fine as they were.

But Virgil? Virgil was different. In a good way. Virgil loved being at the forefront, he loved being listened to, he loved having his contributions mean something more than silent thoughts in the dead of night. Virgil loved having his existence acknowledged, his presence welcomed.

Deceit accepted his fate long ago. Remus accepted the fact that he would forever be labeled as “unwanted.” Even Orange…

They weren’t like the others. To Roman, to Logan, to Patton, to Thomas- they would be the villains. They would always be the villains. The monsters that go bump in the night. Evil, tempting creatures who only wished for Thomas to be led astray.

Deceit would never be acknowledged as someone who only wanted the best for Thomas, who only wanted for Thomas to have as many opportunities as possible, who did his best to level out an uneven playing field.

That would never happen.

After all, Deceit was a snake. The serpent slithering in the Garden of Eden, existing only for the sole purpose of tricking mankind, of tricking Thomas into sinning. Because fuck all his contributions, right? He’s obviously manipulating Thomas for his own benefit, right? It’s not as if he loved Thomas as much as the others did, right!?

Deceit took a breath.

“What do you mean, ‘I’m not welcome here?’ If this is a joke, it’s not funny.” Seated across from him, Virgil trembled. The dining table was set for four, like it usually was. Virgil was seated on his chair lined with spiderwebs, Deceit on the opposite end with live snakes writhing behind him.

A quick glance at the two empty seats. Orange’s was empty, his plate taken to his own room to be consumed away from the soon-to-be fight. The thorny vines on Remus’ chair were wilting, turning into a sickly pallor even in the dim lighting of their side of the Mindscape. Between Orange and Remus, Remus hated the plan most. If Deceit didn’t explain himself, Remus would have objected-

A fist made the table shake. Virgil stood at full height, towering over Deceit. His fist was shaking, clenching the tablecloth so tightly that it bunched up within his fingers. “What the hell do you mean, Deceit?” The webs on Virgil’s chair seemed to levitate, flaring out in response to Virgil’s emotions.

The shadows danced.

Deceit had assured the other two that he could do this alone. Now that he faced Virgil’s confusion, his anger, his sadness, the palpable net of betrayal that had ensnared each and every one of Deceit’s senses, he doubted himself.

His eyes darted once more around the table. Looking for something, anything, to prolong the inevitable, to distract him from what he had to do, if only for a second. There were no distractions.

Only the hissing of his snakes, Virgil’s trembling hands begging for an answer, food that had long since gone cold. And Remus’ vines. Thick ropes of flora that he conjured just this morning. Razor-like triangular thorns jutted out with points sharp enough to tear through flesh. Poisonous flowers brought colour to an otherwise monotone assemble. And they were wilting. Remus’ vines were sagging loosely, the flowers closing up to shrivel and die.

It took immeasurable amounts of energy to exist here, in this corner of the Mindscape. Every plant will die. Every living thing needed constant attention to thrive. Deceit’s snakes were screaming in indignation from the lack of warmth, the lack of heat, the lack of everything.

“You don’t belong here, Virgil.”

Virgil always did love the Light.

Deceit saw him with the others. With Morality and Logic and Roman. Virgil laughed with a glint in his eyes, he curled into their touch, basked in their light. Deceit was a liar. A good one. But he wasn’t an idiot and only an idiot would say that Virgil was better off with Deceit, with the Darkness.

If Deceit was fated to be a villain, fated to be nothing more than a monster, then he would be one. But Remus was different. Orange was different.

Virgil was different.

It would be better for Virgil to be in a place where he could be happier. Somewhere bright, where Thomas could openly acknowledge and appreciate him, where he wouldn’t be treated as a villain for doing what he’s supposed to.

And if the price to pay for Virgil’s happiness was revulsion, then Deceit would gladly pay. He’d pay it ten, a hundred, a thousand times over. He kept his hands below the table, where Virgil wouldn’t see them tremble, where he wouldn’t see Deceit’s nails tear through the tablecloth in agitation. If he wanted Virgil to run to Patton, to Roman, to Logan, then he needed Virgil to hate him. Despise him. Loathe him.

So Deceit would play the part of monster.

A smirk. “You heard me Virgil.” It felt wrong. The smirk was too tight, it held none of the mirth or the joy or the insouciant audacity. It bared his too-sharp fangs that glinted in what little light they had. It was a show of aggression and it felt wrong. “You don’t belong here. You’re not wanted. So I don’t understand why you’re still standing there.”

You belong here. You’re wanted. I don’t want you to go.

Virgil’s breath hitched. His hands leaving the table to cover his face. Pretend that he wasn’t crying. Deceit forced himself to look. He wanted to stop. He wanted to admit everything and let Virgil stay, let Virgil think of such a desolate plate as his home. But that would be selfish. Wouldn’t it?

A long silence stretched out. A pin would sound deafening. Even the snakes wriggling around on Deceit’s chair were deathly quiet. Deceit’s nails had pierced through the tablecloth and into the meat of his palms. The room was colder than the blood dripping down Deceit’s fingers.

When Virgil finally spoke, his voice broke. It was shivering as much as Virgil was. Wavered in the air as fragile as glass. “You’re lying, right? Tell me you’re lying Dee. Please. You didn’t mean any of that.” It was Deceit’s job to shatter that glass. Rain it down around them and break every fragment of Virgil’s trust into nothing but dust and regret.

“Ugh. Of course I mean it, Virgil.” I don’t.

“Why would I lie about not wanting your wretched melancholy here? You’re just tainting the place.” I want you to be somewhere bright. A place where the Light can reach you.

“I’ll say it as many times as I need to. No one wants you here. You’re not needed. You don’t belong with us.” We want you. We need you. You belong here, Virgil.

“All of your fears, your anxieties. Who in their right mind would want that constantly looming over like a dark thundercloud?” There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect just the way you are. We cherish everything you do for Thomas.

“I, for one, utterly despise you, Virgil.” I lo-

“FINE!” It was not the angry scream Deceit anticipated. It was not the voice of someone full of rage and hatred, prepared to leave everything behind. It was hurt. It was broken. It was an anguished cry that tore its way out of Virgil’s throat. Primal. Guttural. Bleeding with the tears Virgil cried.

“You want me gone so bad then I’m fucking GONE.” Virgil shot out of his seat, stomping down the hallway. Desperately trying to hold his sobbing back. His footsteps echoed in the Mindscape. Growing fainter and fainter with every second that passed.

The chair at the table that had been Virgil’s dissolved. Dust and shadows disintegrating Anxiety’s chair into nothingness. Virgil’s presence vanished from this part of the mindscape.

“Never return here,” Deceit whispered to an empty table.

Stay with me.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know what I'm writing next click over [HERE](https://crownonymous.tumblr.com/sched)  
> If you want to stay updated on the progress I've made on my fics click [HERE](https://crownonymous.tumblr.com/tagged/crownonynews)  
> And if you want to come say hi or just get bombarded with random posts, you can find me over [HERE](https://landofsaltandshade.tumblr.com/)  
> If you’re interested in more Sanders Sides post, my TS Sideblog is over [HERE](https://hufflepuff-deceit.tumblr.com/fanfic)


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